Mona Lisa Awakening

Favorite Lines: “”Now what happened to Sampson?” I mused. “Oh yeah, Delilah cut his locks off.” I gabbed his offending organ. My knife flew and blood spurt over me.” (115)

I’ve been screamin’ like an old man ever since I read this short story by Sunny. I’ve posted her site too many times. Now it’s time for me to give my first full review of her book Mona Lisa Awakening.

The quick intro into the Monere world reminds me of Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty trilogy. It is fast and assumes that you are willing to ride on the wild side. If you’re unwilling to believe in a world with Moon people coexisting with humans, don’t pick up this book. If you don’t want to ride the erotic rollercoaster created by Sunny, don’t pick up this book. For everyone else, get this book! It is spicy!!

With a flowing pen, Sunny invites her readers on a journey with Mona Lisa. Mona Lisa has never felt like other people. She’s always been stronger and able to sense illness with in others. As an infant she was left on the steps of an orphanage, her past something she thought to never know. One night at work she feels an irresistible pull towards a strange man. This man is her introduction into the world of the Monere.

Mona Lisa has a great deal to become used to, for the Monere world is far different from the human world. In the world of the ‘moonines’, half-blooded children are treated like crap. They are of no consequence to full blooded Monere people. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for Mona Lisa she is not full blooded (hence she was abandoned). Some Monere women are queens, able to pull in the moon, and allow her people to bask in it’s light. The queens take multiple lovers and fear the day the men become powerful enough to exist without them.

In this world the queens have all the power, or do they? You’ll have to read to find out. I’ll read it again and again and again…

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Visions of Heat meme

The VISIONS OF HEAT meme

1. Which psychic power would you most like to possess? Telekinesis would be great. I’d be able to throw stuff at people without them being able to dodge or know that it was coming.

2. If you could see the future, what would you like to see? Happy endings. I’m tired of only knowing bad things.

3. Imagine you woke up one day and could shapeshift – what would you shift into? A lioness. A very special lioness. One that specialized in being alone and hunting alone until her hot lion comes into the picture. Her lion will bring out more of her human side…

4. What kind of a paranormal creature would you invite over for dinner if there were no limits on who you could ask? Elephant shifter. I’d like to see how they act.

5. Which future innovation do you wish would hurry up and get here already? i.e. flying cars, a transporter, computers with artificial intelligence, an auto chef? I want the Star Trek machine that fixes food. I want to walk up to it, tell it what I want, and then reach right in and grab it.

This meme was begun by Nalini Singh to get the word out about her next book, Visions of Heat [http://www.nalinisingh.com/visions] (releasing March 6). Want to play, too, and enter to win a $50 Amazon voucher plus an ARC? Click here [http://nalinisingh.blogspot.com/2007/02/visions-of-heat-meme.html] for details.

Moon Awakening

Favorite Lines: “You do not smell like a dog. I would have thought a wolf would smell like a canine.” (250)

Moon Awakening is a historical paranormal romance that takes place in the Scottish highlands. It follows Englishwoman Emily Hamilton on her journey to marry a highlander. Life doesn’t always work out the way you expect it to and Emily finds herself carried away by a different highland lord (Lachlan), who is a capable of turning into a wolf.

The world Lucy Monroe creates is similar to that of many historical romances. It’s comfortable. The plot isn’t complex and the book is an enjoyable read. Before I read the first half of the book I knew who the bad guy was. It’s very obvious and seems to be a traditional historical plot.

After Emily and her first soon-to-be sister-in-law were kidnapped, they learn it is in retaliation for a member of the Balmoral clan (Lachlan’s clan) being taken in marriage and not offered for. The Sinclairs (where the woman now lives happily married) insist that she was in their territory and not under the protection of the Balmoral’s, something that is argued throughout the entire book.

This book is not complex. It is predictable but a decent twist on the historical romance. The characters are typical and not memorable. Emily was almost annoying with her flip-floppy attitude.

Will I read the next installation? Probably, but I won’t rush out to buy it.

Guilt

Gypsy tagged me for this one. I’m with her in that I don’t really feel guilty about these things, but here goes nothing.

Culinary guilt: Fried food
why: I know that it’s not good for me and that I’ve gained enough weight that I shouldn’t eat it, but I won’t give it up.

Literary guilt: Historical Romance
Why: Most of the books are about the Scottish Highlands and are the same idea. I love the men, even if I’d never date one of them. They are testosterone overloaded, but I love them anyway.

Audiovisual guilt: Broadway musicals
Why: They are like chocolate. I took one taste of them and haven’t let go. The singing, dancing, acting…I love it all.

Musical guilt: Anything but country. I just don’t care for country. I liked Schindler’s List, most rap, old school R&B.
Why: It’s all related to my mood. When I’m hyped I want rap. When I’m depressed I want old Quiet Storm or instrumental.

Celebrity guilt: None
Why: I have my own life to worry about and not the time, nor the inclination to worry about somebody else’s’ life. Especially when most of my probs. revolve around money and I see them throwing it around.

Dream-Hunter

Favorite Lines: “Your brother is an absolute jerk. He just lifted my dress up. Here. In public.” (94)

Kenyon has a great website. She has areas for anything you can imagine. There are author facts liberally sprinkled on many of the pages. One of the factoids interested me greatly.

“When St. Martins decided to go hardcover, Sherri was concerned. Her fans were used to two books a year and since hardcovers cost so much, she didn’t want to abuse their pockets. As a comprise, she and her publisher worked out a deal to keep the Dark-Hunters coming out twice a year with the Dark-Hunter/Were-Hunter novels being hardback while the Dream-Hunters would continue in paperback form.”(Kenyon’s site)

Sherrilyn Kenyon has a two new additions to her Dark-Hunter series. The first is a free e-book that you can request from here. The second is Dream-Hunter. Dream-Hunters are helpers to the Dark-Hunters and next year there will be a second book in the series.

Arikos is a god. He is a cursed god. Cursed to feel no emotion except when in the human dream world, he finds a woman that piques his curiosity and makes a deal with Hades to be near her. He barters the soul of Mageara (Geary) for two weeks of being human. Two weeks of feeling emotions and touch.

Mageara is fulfilling a promise given to her father on his deathbed. She promised to search for the lost city of Atlantis. On her search, she learns about the Gods of old and herself. She must decide whether to follow her instinct or continue the search that killed most of her family.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes. There is a ton of information about Greek mythology incorporated into this book. It obviously has many hours of research logged into its creation.

What didn’t I like about this book? I disliked a lot of the banter. At first it was humerous. Then it became tired as it dragged from two brothers to several of the Gods.

Are there any Dark-Hunters? Yes. A cameo moment is made and we learn that this story is taking place while Archeron and Nick are still best friends. Nick’s mother has not died yet.

Would I read this book again? No.

Am I glad I read it? Yes.

Speak No Evil

Favorite Lines: “As he packed up his laptop, Nick realized that Steve didn’t think of himself as a thirty-eight-year-old man. He held close to the image that he was a young, twenty-one-year old war hero who fit in at college.” (156)

Alright, before you read this you have to check out Allison Brennan’s site. She has a great trailer posted for her latest series of three books: Speak No Evil, See No Evil, and Fear No Evil. Brennan maintains a blog that can be reached off of her index page as well.

Speak No Evil is a walk on the darker side of life. It is a romantic suspense about Detective Carina Kincaid’s investigation into a young woman’s brutal murder. Her prime suspect enlists the aid of his brother, Nick Thomas, who happens to be a Sheriff from Brennan’s previous series The Hunt. The two work together to determine the identity of the killer while creating an intimate relationship.

If you like suspense this is a great book for you. The book has a few graphic passages such as the one depicting foreign objects used torturing the victim, but they are not dwelt on. It’s well crafted and fans of Brennan will enjoy this book. Nick and Carina are both dealing with emotional issues that are neatly addressed throughout the book.

I’m thankful for Brennan writing a book that kept the killer from me for over half of the book. (There is nothing worse than knowing the plot before the first half of the book is read!)

See No Evil will be released on Feb. 27, 2007. I can assure you that it will be on my To Buy list.

When Darkness Comes

Favorite Lines: “Their long ebony hair was pulled into a braid that hung down their backs, brushing the tiny white loincloth that was all that covered the most bodacious bodies ever seen. King Tut, take me now, a renegade voice whispered in the back of her mind.” (209)

This is book one in the Guardians of Eternity series written by Deborah Raleigh under the pen name of Alexandra Ivy. Debbie Raleigh has published many Regency novels and this is the first in a line that leans toward the spicier side of life. It is a must read.

Abby Barlow is having a bad life. She grew up with alcoholic parents, an abusive father who deserted the family early in life, and five brothers who bailed as soon as they were able. Despite the hard knocks life has given her she has managed to remain a pure soul, unwilling to give up on life. She is working as hired help when she is transformed into the vessel that contains the Phoenix.

The bane of her existence as of late happens to be Dante, the Guardian of the vessel. He’s wanted in her pants since he laid eyes upon her and fate has decreed that he now be tied to her further. He has an annoying habit of calling her lover and looking good enough to eat no matter the circumstances. He is the only barrier between Abby and the demons searching to destroy her.

The pacing is quick, the setting varied and very well detailed, and I loved the characters. I enjoyed the witty Abby and Dante’s ability to see into her fractured soul. I can’t wait to read about the head of Dante’s family, Viper. There are witches, demons, hell hounds, vampires, and warlocks in this book. The author takes the journey from an opulent mansion to the sewers to a house of pleasure. The scenery is vivid and all encompassing. It is a book that I didn’t put down until I finished it. I would recommend it.

Kissing Sin

Favorite Lines: “I don’t know what Lady Godiva’s caper was about, but she obviously hadn’t been riding that horse bareback for the sheer pleasure of it.” (19) “”Never had a naked woman ride my alternate shape before. It’s rather…erotic.” I grinned. “So Lady Godiva wasn’t as stupid as I thought?” “Not if that horse of hers was a shifter.” My gaze drifted downward, coming to rest on the tent pole he had going. That would certainly explain the silly woman’s smile.” (24)

Kissing Sin is book two in the Riley Jenson Guardian series written by Keri Arthur. The first book in the series, Full Moon Rising, introduced us to the woman who is half vampire-half werewolf. This book picks up where FMR ends. If you haven’t read FMR, I seriously suggest you stop reading this post and come back after reading FMR.

The book takes off at a full sprint. Riley awakens in an alley with a dead person beside her. She is immediately chased by bear-like creatures called the orsini. Riley escapes with another prisoner (a horse shifter) and calls in the Directorate to help shut down the facility where she had been held.

What ensues is a race to find out who wants Riley, what happened to her when she was held captive, and how to shut down the cross-breeding laboratories. Riley is still having sex with multiple partners as is the werewolf tendency in this series. She needs to find out if she can procreate and find her soul mate.

This book is a fantasy novel. It is not a romance. The book is not cleanly wrapped up by the final page nor was its predecessor. There are several books in this series to be published in the next several months. Kissing Sin is not a book for everyone. I was pleased with Riley’s ability to not be stuck in a rut. At the end of FMR she wanted Quin and seemed to become depressed at the possibility of not having him. She has moved on in this book. She still wants him, but is not willing to lose herself for him. She won’t give up her sense of self and life expectations for another creature. This makes the blatant sexuality appealing for me.

I’ll be reading the next book in the series, Tempting Evil, when it releases Feb. 27, 2007.

The Sword

Favorite Lines: “It was all she could do to keep from twitching back out of the chalk circle as the mekha-whatchamacallit slurped up the snake like it was a piece of oversized spaghetti. It paused for a moment, tensed and dropped something small and black and multilegged out of its back end, and then scuttled onward, vanishing out of the reach of the light within moments.” (50)

I tried to google Jean Johnson, but could only find her listed with this book and the next in the series The Wolf. The Sword is a paranormal/time travel romance novel. Kelly was snatched from certain death by the youngest of eight cursed brothers and placed into the care of the eldest brother Saber. She is a feisty twenty-seven year old who was being harassed in small town America and persecuted as a witch due to her interest in the Medieval society.

Saber and his brothers have not seen or touched a woman for three years. The wonderful citizens from their country believe that the brothers are cursed and have exiled the men to Nightfall island. They are all confirmed bachelors set in their ways until Kelly arrives and begins to shake up their world.

Kelly is a trip. She knows martial arts and is not afraid to use them. She is a hard worker whose knowledge about medieval life makes her life bearable. It’s great to watch her force the men around her to respect her and come to love her. The book was a light hearted read but I don’t know that I want to pay $14.00 for the second book in the series. I’m curious as to the fate of the remaining seven brothers (especially Wolf) but the shift this book took towards the end, as the prophesy began to be fulfilled, turned me off. I didn’t like the plot twist.

While it was different from any other paranormal book I’ve read lately, it felt…off. Something bothered me and I can’t tell without giving away too much information. Hmmm, this is hard. If you can get this book for mass book price, go for it. If not, hold off until you can borrow or buy at a reduced price.

i see you

Favorite Lines: “She wanted to be naked and free, to do underwater ballet and catch fish with her teeth.” (158)

Dia Courvant is a paramedic with a problem; she has become the victim of a stalker. After receiving slightly menacing gifts, she enlists a detective working on a series of auto accidents. Little did they know that the the accidents and the stalker were connected.

There is a tiny thread including ghosts incorporated into this romantic suspense. Dia is an adrenaline junkie who is trying to move past the death of her husband. Detective Hafferty is pretty boring. I didn’t see what was so great about him. His partner was far more interesting.

I was pretty bored with this book. I kept it in my purse and only read it while waiting at the bus stop for my daughter. Reading this book took me over a month and a half. I didn’t care enough about the plot, characters, or setting to invest much time into it. I only read it because I had nothing else to read at the moment. You can read chapter 1 here.

Now, it’s time for the big question; do I recommend this book? No.